Ink Conductivity

The conductivity of the ink was first tested by directly applying it to a sheet of printer paper. The manufacturer stated that if the ink dries golden then that means it is electrically conductive. If, however, the ink were to dry silver in color then that would mean it is not electrically conductive. The images below show some examples of the dried ink on printer paper under a microscope.

Fig 1. Conductive Droplet

Fig 2. Fibers visible in silver area but not gold

Fig 3. Golden ink forms shell above the plane of the paper

From what I have gathered, a sufficient amount of ink is necessary to create a conductive trace on paper. When conductive spots emerge, it can be seen that a shell is formed that rises above the actual paper itself. Where as the silver spots soak into the paper and the individual paper fibers can still be seen. This could be due to the fact that the fibers in the paper are wicking away the ink and prohibiting it from coagulating. More tests will be run to try to further saturate the paper with ink and also using transparencies. Transparencies have the benefit of having no fibers that could interfere with the placement of the ink.